February 19 - For almost thirty years now, a feud has riled my family. In public, my brother Bob and I show brotherly deference and seldom speak about it, except among ourselves. But maybe it is time to come clean.

After all, many families will tell a similar tale in these days of hyper-partisanship! In our case, one half of the family (meaning me) stands firmly situated in the Android world, while my older brother advocates tirelessly for every device and every piece of software ever made, marketed, or produced by Apple, Inc.

The issue flared again this week at the conclusion of one of our regular Tuesday evening family Zoom sessions. For some reason the topic again came around to Droid vs. Apple. My brother sang his usual paean in praise of Apple computer dependability while I feigned my usual nonchalance and tried my best to ignore his arguments.

A funny thing happened next, though. Off the call, I went back to my PC laptop to write this column. I opened the cover and watched in disbelief and horror as the screen went black.

Attempts to reboot the machine failed. It's as if the wood stove exploded in the midst of a cold snap. Little brothers often ask big brothers for help; but in this instance, Bob would be of no help, living as he does in Nova Scotia on the other side of the Droid-Apple world.

I picked up my aging Android-driven mobile and googled around a bit (yay Google! yay Android!), and quickly discovered a local technology firm over on Mongaup Valley's Plank Road. Prestige Technology Solutions, or PTS (+845-797-0337), had stellar online reviews. I called them up and a few hours later, a young man came by to diagnose my computer problem and take my laptop away to fix it.

PTS does a lot of things really, really well. Corey Nash Gips, company head, started the firm three years ago as Prestige Productions, which rented out party equipment while also producing weddings and parties. “Covid almost threw us overboard,” Gips told me. “For four months last year we had no work.”

Larger local competitors failed. Gips and his sidekick Justice Mazzotti refused to give up. “We branched out. We realized no one around Mongaup Valley does any technology maintenance or designs technology solutions.”

Now the company is beginning to flourish as word gets around about its superb work on PCs, Mac/Apple products, mobile phones—and party planning. “We already have 53 party events lined up for 2021—all DOH compliant—and we've opened another company, Prestige Energy Solutions, to concentrate on ‘smart house' technologies: things like in- or outdoor Wifi optimization and energy efficiency for the large new homes being built and renovated around Sullivan.”

This cold night I am writing this column on my newly-repaired laptop next to the cast iron stove. I can highly recommend PTS to everybody. Meantime, I am giving the world of Apple a closer look.

My brother hasn't won the argument, not just yet. But in times of great uncertainty, the certainty that a vital piece of technology works? It's like a big log on the fire!